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Jan 15 (Reuters) - Canada's skeleton team have been cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation into the withdrawal of four athletes from last week's North American Cup in Lake Placid, the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said on Thursday.
The probe was launched after Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton pulled four women's sliders from the Lake Placid event, reducing ranking points for all competitors and ending American Katie Uhlaender's bid for a sixth Olympics despite winning the race.
Rival federations alleged the move was aimed at protecting Canada's Olympic quota for Milano Cortina 2026.
"The current IBSF Rules allow National Federations to withdraw athletes from competition at any time," IBSF said in a statement.
"The IIU dismissed the complaints as the current IBSF Rules and Regulations did not give grounds for a breach of the International Rules, the Code of Conduct, and respectively the Code of Ethics."
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
